Under the Northern Territory Information Act, public sector organisations must transfer their records to the NTAS no later than 30 years after the record was created.

Most government archives enter an open access period. This is an access agreement between the NTAS and the controlling agency so archives are accessible 30 years after the record was created.

An access agreement negotiated between the NTAS and the Department of the Chief Minister provides for an annual opening of Cabinet submissions and decisions (NTRS 2575) and the Executive Council meeting papers (NTRS 3351) 30 years after the records creation.